"dirt" appears on pool bottom as a result of filtering

[dmfabri]

I am experience a perplexing phenomenon. My pool is 16X32, 3.5' to 7.5' deep vinyl. I am not losing water unusually. I am getting a noticeable amount of what appears to be dirt after filter has run. I have a Fury Robot that vacuums the pool excellently. I have not found any tears or leaks. There is no filter sand mixed with the dirt. Any ideas what the cause might be? Thanks

 

[duraleigh]

YOu don't post enough information (test results, type of chlorination) to make an educated guess but a common issue is that it is not dirt at all but rather dead algae settling to your pool floor. The pump "bunches" it up so it is more visible

 

[bpricedo]

Also a possibility it is dirt. I had this problem and it was due to a suction side leak (in my case it was a broken fitting attaching the suction line to the bottom of the skimmer). Not much water would leak out when pump was off but when it came on, it sucked the muddy water back in. The bottom of the pool would be covered in fine dirt.

I guess you could try the overnight chlorine loss test and see if you have algae or just shock it.

 

[pointledge]

Also a possibility it is dirt. I had this problem and it was due to a suction side leak (in my case it was a broken fitting attaching the suction line to the bottom of the skimmer). Not much water would leak out when pump was off but when it came on, it sucked the muddy water back in. The bottom of the pool would be covered in fine dirt.

I guess you could try the overnight chlorine loss test and see if you have algae or just shock it.

This sounds like my pool... I've just started losing water over the past two weeks. When my pump switches to low speed, dirt/sand settles to the bottom of the pool. My Polaris pulls most of it out, but it keeps reappearing. I've also noticed a lot of air in the pump that appears to be coming from the suction side.

My question then is "How do I find out where the suction side leak is?"

I have a 27,000 gallon in-ground pool with two skimmers and a main drain.

 

[bpricedo]

I discovered mine when I winterized. I hooked up a compressor to the pump to blow out lines, when I screwed a gizmo into the skimmer, muddy water came blowing into skimmer around the top. So I knew the leak was below the skimmer. I had to cut up the deck to get to it.

There are leak detection companies, like American Leak Detection. I have no idea how they find leaks.